Image by Carlo Borlenghi: : A thunderstorm rolls in at the Malcesine edition of the 2008 Melges 32 Audi Sailing Series
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Melges 32 Audi Sailing Series Malcesine Final Day Roundup
Photo: Carlo Borlenghi : : The final day of the Malcesine edition of the Melges 32 2008 Audi Sailing Series started early this morning for the race team, competitors and spectators alike. Racing commenced promptly at 08.30 in an effort to catch up the race lost due to yesterday afternoon’s thunderstorm. This gave the fleet an opportunity to experience the northerly Pela wind which was blowing solidly at twenty knots as the boats lined up for the first start.
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Melges 32 Audi Sailing Series Malcesine Day 2 Roundup
Photo: Max Ranchi : : Day two of the Malcesine edition of the 2008 Audi Sailing Series got off to an inauspicious start today at Lake Garda. The thermal breeze was in a particularly capricious mood, first tempting the race committee and the boats afloat as it looked to be about to build to normal Ora conditions, before shutting off completely leaving the lake mirror flat. After waiting patiently for a while the PRO made a wise decision and hoisted AP over A (now known as the ‘Coffee Time’ signal) to send the fleet ashore. As the teams enjoyed their unexpected Cappuccinos the chat was all about what would happen next. Local knowledge on the situation seemed to range widely. Some said it was too hot, some too cold and others too cloudy for good lake breezes. Happily for both sailors and the large spectator fleet something like normality soon returned and less than an hour after coming ashore the fleet was back out on the water lining up for race four of the championships in bright sunshine and twelve to fifteen knots of pressure.
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Ainslie ready to pounce at Finn Europeans
Photo: Emilio Bianchi : : Ben Ainslie has had to deal with his fair share of difficulties at the Finn Europeans out in Scarlino, Italy. He has had a race win taken off him for a startline infringement and has had to make some big comebacks after rounding the windward mark in the forties.
Going into today's medal race he sits in second place eight points behind Guillaume Florent. With the European title riding on this race it promises to be a real nailbiter.
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Melges 32 Audi Sailing Series Malcesine Day 1 Roundup
Masthead image by Max Ranchi : : Other images by Carlo Borlenghi : :
Luigi Melegari’s matrix leads after day one of the Malcesine 2008 Melges 32 Audi Sailing Series
Racing in the Malcesine edition of the 2008 Melges 32 Audi Sailing Series got underway in spectacular style today at Lake Garda.
Three races were sailed in bright sunshine and shifty ten to fourteen knot breezes. The racing was fast and furious and produced three separate race winners. Significant variations in the breeze strength and direction meant that it was a tough day out for the fleet’s tacticians. With consistency so hard to achieve and many opportunities to go from ‘penthouse to outhouse’ good mental fortitude was as important as sailing skills.
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Melges 32 Audi Sailing Series Malcesine - Preview
The first round of the Audi Melges 32 Sailing Series 2008 kicks off today in beautiful Malcesine on Itlay’s Lake Garda. Twelve European teams make up the entry list including two recent winners of US Melges 32 regattas. Red, owned and steered by Joe Woods from the UK comes into this event on the back of a closely fought victory at the Annapolis NOOD. Morgan Reeser joins the team for the first time in the tactician’s role. Michael Illbruck’s Pinta has also been victorious on the US Melges 32 circuit this year – convincingly winning the Miami SORC in March. Calling tactics for Illbruck aboard Pinta will be New Zealand America’s Cup sailor Adam Beashel.
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GP42 Trofeo Pirelli
Photos by Pierre Orphanidis : :
Desafío, the Spanish GP42 team, was crowned winner of the Trofeo Pirelli, opening event of the Quebramar GP42 Cup 2008, after yet another excruciatingly light and testing day on the waters of Santa Margherita Ligure. Just three boats managed to finish the fourth and closing race of the event.
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Finn Euros day 2 - Tricky racing
Photos by James Robinson Taylor : : The glorious Tuscany weather returned for the second day of racing at the Finn Open and Junior European Championship in Scarlino, Italy. However, again, the wind didn't make things easy. It took four hours waiting for the wind to stabilise and three general recalls before racing could finally start. When it did, race wins went to Gasper Vincec (SLO) and Pieter-Jan Postma (NED) with a number of favourites picking up high scores.
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UK Squad at Melges 24 Italian Nationals
Four British teams made the journey to the island of Sardinia for the Italian Nationals at Cagliari - the final warm up before the 2008 World Championship in Porto Cervo. They joined fifty eight other boats from Italy and across Europe in what turned out to be one of the best Melges 24 regattas of the season so far. Eleven of a possible twelve races were sailed in bright sunshine and a variety of breezes from eight up to twenty knots. Italy’s Joe Fly helmed by 470 Olympic representative Gabrio Zandona took the title ahead of Lorenzo Bressani on Uka Uka and Matteo Ivaldi on Brontolo AB Medica.
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Melges 24 Italian Nationals - Offshore Rules exclusive report
Photo: www.melges24.it : :
The 2008 Melges 24 European calendar is building to a real crescendo. Last week’s Italian National Championships at Cagliari attracted a sixty two boat entry to the island of Sardinia and the forthcoming Worlds in Porto Cervo have already breached the one hundred boat mark.
The Italian Nationals was the final chance for teams to measure up against each other before the Worlds and all the top Euro teams were in attendance. Eleven of the possible twelve races were sailed. It was only possible to start racing at around 13.00 each day to enable the sea breeze to kick in fully. Three races were sailed every day except Sunday when the 14.00 cut off meant just two could be squeezed in.
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Perfect line up
We just spotted this great startline shot taken on the practice day at the Finn Euros at Scarlino, Italy.
Thanks to Emilio Bianchi for the photo.
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British boats clean up at Antigua Race Week
Pictures by Ingrid Abery : :
British boats performed well at this year's Antigua Race Week - Joining the ranks of such famous yachts as Enzian, Kialoa 4, Infinity, Sayonara, Morning Glory, Pyewacket, Lolita and Rosebud – all past winners of the Lord Nelson Trophy representing the overall victory at Antigua – is a new name, Benny Kelly’s TP52, Panthera. Along with the Lord Nelson prize, Panthera also took home the Curtain Bluff Trophy presented to the winner of the big-boat Racing I class.
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Team Aqua launches its 2008 dual campaign
Pictures by Jacques Vapillon : :
Already involved in the RC 44 Class, Team Aqua announces today that it will also compete in the iShares Cup on board Extreme 40 catamarans. The two sailing platforms will be used to raise funds for the World Land Trust, an organisation that promotes ecological sustainability around the world.
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Ainslie takes first race in Finn Euros
Pictures by James Robinson Taylor : :
Words by Robert Deaves : :
After a three hour delay to wait for the wind to arrive, the 2008 Finn Open and Junior Championship got underway in Scarlino, Italy with a single race in 6-8 knots of patchy breeze. Ben Ainslie (GBR) made his intentions quite clear, with a clean race win, after leading at each and every mark. Piotr Kula (POL) was the best of the juniors finishing in 11th place.
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RC44 Class Cagliari Cup Fleet Racing - Final
Sailing images: Francesco Nonnoi - Yacht Club Cagliari : :
Sebastian Col and Armando Giulietti aboard Hiroshi Citta’ Di Milano stamped their authority on the RC44 fleet here in Cagliari today winning the final two races of the regatta to take the RC44 Cagliari Cup by a margin of thirteen points from Larry Ellison and Russell Coutts on BMW/Oracle. Patrick de Barros and Ben Ainslie on Banco Espirito Santo secured the final podium position.
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RC44 Class Cagliari Cup Fleet Racing - Day 2
It was a day of ups and downs for the main contenders in the RC44 Cagliari Cup today. On the dock this morning Patrick de Barros, owner and helmsman of Portugal’s Banco Espirito Santo was in determined mood. ‘Yesterday we had many problems. We had to swap out our pitman who had injured his wrist the previous day and that caused us to make several boathandling mistakes. Today we must do better’ he told us. We also heard from a member of his crew that, in deference to an old Portuguese custom, before the rest of the crew arrived, he had placed some garlic on the bow of the boat which apparently drives away bad luck and evil spirits. Well it certainly seemed to help – in the first race de Barros pulled off a perfect pin end start to lead the fleet away to the favoured left hand side of the course.
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RC44 Class Cagliari Cup Fleet Racing - Day 1
The old adage about consistency being the key to success in one design regattas was proved right today in the RC44 Class Cagliari Cup. The top three boats each took a race win but more importantly didn’t have any shockers to drag them down the rankings. Best performer over the three races was Jaki Hellmich’s Sea Dubai who with the help of legendary Dragon sailor Marcus Weisser recorded a 3,4,1 scoreline to top the leaderboard overnight.
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Mascalzone Latino pulling power?
What do you do when your racing yacht is late for the start and you need a tow? Find the nearest rib? Not if your name is Vincenzo Onorato and you own a shipping line....
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The need for speed!
The latest from Paul Larsen on this amazing boat and the search for 50 knots. Check out the on board video....April 20th at Walvis Bay Speed-spot. Run 32 for Sailrocket at this amazing location. Wind is gusting over 23 knots but averaging around 20-21. Steering was done using the large supposedly 'low-speed' rudder connected to foot stirrups. It's a big ol' 'spade' for over 40 knots and proved to be too sensitive. Small course changes were difficult so we stayed away from the shore and hence... in the rough stuff. I stopped the run early by oversheeting the wing to stall it and bearing away. Sailrocket carried her speed for a long way. It was a fast run... but not a clean one. Nonetheless, the boat itself behaved beautifully, it was just the steering system which needed tweaking. The following day on Run 33 i tried the high speed system and it worked fine. We wil focus on this from here on in. Lifting the big 'spade' is good for another 4-5 knots, pulling the wing flap on is good for at least that as is sailing in flat water... and then there is the detail work of fairing the strut and getting rid of the uphaul rigging. We only need another 6 knots and to do some smooth runs and we are there. This boat will do over 50 knots. Perhaps sooner rather than later.
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Larry Ellison wins RC44 Cagliari Cup Match Racing
It has been all action out in the bay off Cagliari, Sadinia as the match racing element of the 2008 RC44 Cagliari Cup came to a climax today. The overnight leader was Oracle/BMW chief Larry Ellison driving an RC44 in his first regatta. Impressively Ellison topped the results ahead of big match racing names like James Spithill and Ben Ainslie. Both of these helms had their sights set on wresting the overall title away from the American billionaire in today’s racing.
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RC44 Class Cagliari Cup - Match racing in 25 knots!
Well we made it out to Sardinia and found our way down to the RC44 dock just as the boats arrived in from a day of match racing in up to 25 knots of wind. Perhaps the fact that the first thing all the boats did was drag their kites ashore to try to get them dry gives some clue to type of day out it had been.
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RC44 Class Cagliari Cup - Preview
Photos by Gilles Martin-Raget / BMW ORACLE Racing : : The RC44 Class Cagliari Cup kicks off tomorrow the island of Sardinia off the Italian coast. The star studded fleet includes two newly crowned world champions – Mateusz Kusznierwicz (Star) and Vincenzo Onorato (Farr 40) along with several other legends of sailing including Ben Ainslie getting some match race practice in for his role as helm of the British Team Origin AC campaign, James Spithill, Sebastian Col, Cameron Appleton and owner of the Oracle BMW AC team Larry Ellison. Russel Coutts himself has been giving Ellison a few pointers today to get him up to speed at the helm of the RC44. (See below).
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Jezebel Two
Photo Sarah Neville : : We couldn't believe what we were reading this morning. Less than two weeks ago we were admiring the finish on the new Corby 29 in our local boatyard where she had been prepared for shipping by road to her new home in Scotland. We even watched some great video of her debut race in Cardigan Bay the previous weekend. A couple of days later we watched her roll out of town on the back of a low loader heading North.
Then this morning we spotted the BBC news item that she had hit rocks whilst sailing up in Scotland and sunk. All the crew are safe but we have no more info.
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Rolex Farr 40 Worlds final - down to the wire
Photo credit Rolex/Daniel Forster : : The tightest Farr 40 World Championship for some time concluded over the weekend in Miami. Despite a multitude of superstar names throughout the fleet, two boats dominated the regatta battling it out for first place between them from day one. Vincenzo Onorato’s Mascalzone Latino finally took the victory from Giovanni Maspero’s Joe Fly on the final day – but only after an International Jury had upheld Onorato’s third party protest against Maspero.
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Raymarine Big Boat Series IRC 1 Race 8 - Video
Video by Malcolm Donald : :
Three TP52's were the star attraction in a spectacular IRC 1 fleet in Race 8 of the Warsash Sailing Club Raymarine Big Boat Series. Malcolm Donald was on hand with his high definition video camera to capture the action on what looks to have been a beautiful day out on the Solent.
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Hyeres Olympic Week - Day 1
Photos by Gilles Martin-Raget : : Report by Corinne Rolland-McKenzie : :
The 40th edition of the SOF in Hyères started with gruelling conditions which tested the sailor’s fitness and equipment! The Easterly wind reinforced until mid-afternoon up to 25 knots with deep short waves.
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Farr 40 Worlds Miami - Italians first and second after three races
Photos by Kurt Arrigo/Rolex : : Miami Beach, Fla., USA - Current World Champion Mascalzone Latino charged to the head of the 33-boat fleet on the first day of racing during the 2008 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship. With three races completed in the 10-race series, there are at least a dozen boats that can win the overall title, however today belongs to the Italians. "It's a long time left to sail and we just have to enjoy ourselves on the water," said Onorato moments after returning to the dock. "The others feel the pressure; we are two-time world champions and we are here to enjoy ourselves."
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Offshore Rules talks to Irish Commodore's Cup White Team
There are still three months to go to the 2008 edition of the Commodore’s Cup but the Irish ‘White’ Team are very much focused on getting their boats and crews into shape. Offshore Rules took up an invitation to chat with some of the key members of the squad after last weekend’s training/racing in Kinsale. This is what we found out…
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Preview - GP42 QUEBRAMAR CUP 2008 - Regate Pirelli – Trofeo Carlo Negri
The Gp42 class is about to begin its second year of activity with an intense racing programme: six events in Italy, France, Spain and Portugal for a five months long truly international calendar, from May to mid-October.
The six events circuit will see some eight to twelve participants, in different venues. Each leg will be made of a maximum of nine races, which will compose the final general standings.
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Farr 40 Worlds - Miami
The great and the good of one design keelboat racing are down in Miami right now waiting for the start of the Farr 40 World Championships. Thirty three teams from ten coutries have just finished the pre Worlds and a couple of days of practice. Ian Walker helped William Douglass steer Goombay Smash to a pre Worlds victory but teams like Barking Mad (winner Key West), Mascalzone Latino (current World Champion), and Alinghi to name but three will be keen to lift the world title trophy. World Championship Series Racing starts tomorrow 16th April.
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Offshore Rules interview with Melges 32 sailors Joe Woods and Ruairidh Scott
Photos by Joy Dunigan/USMA : : Based in Torquay, UK but a regular competitor on the international yacht racing circuit Joe Woods made an early entry into the Melges 32 fleet and has built a strong team to help him achieve his goal of winning the class at Key West Race Week
in 2009. Their impressive results so far suggest that the goal could well become a reality. We caught up with Woods and key team member Ruairidh Scott to find out more about the campaign.
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Britpack at 26th Lake Garda Optimist meeting
UK Oppie dad Miles Quinton and a bunch of other parents took a Britpack squad of aspiring UK Optimist sailors to Garda for some international regatta experience. They certainly got some big fleet experience as the entry list was just short of 1000 boats! As well as having a great time they clocked up results which bode well for their future aspirations in the full National squad.
Here is Miles's report on their regatta....
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Open 60 Brit Power
Photo by Artemis Ocean Racing : : A nice video article from The Knowledge Zone/Cowesonline on British Open 60 campaigner Jonnny Malbon at the launch of his new boat Artemis Ocean racing II. Nice bloke with a great looking boat.
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Best of the dock English Harbour Antigua
Before we were dragged kicking and screaming out of the sunshine of Antigua we took the camera for a quick walk around the dockside in English Harbour. With both the Antigua Classic Week and Sailing Week approaching fast the harbour is filling up with beautiful yachts.
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Antigua Dragon fleet
During our Antigua sojurn we stumbled across the Harmony Hall Yacht Club located at Nonsuch Bay. Harmony Hall is the brainchild of Carlo Falcone who founded it along with celebrity sailors Dennis Conner, Russell Coutts, Poul-Richard Hoj-Jensen, Shannon Falcone (Carlo's son), Torben Grael and Mike Toppa.
The photo shows the fleet of ten shiny new Dragons which Falcone purchased to kick start one design racing on Antigua. Talk about putting money where your mouth is.
One thing is for certain the waters of Nonsuch Bay would make an idyllic championship venue and the Dragons look very much at home there.
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It's not normally like this here....
Photo by Ingrid Abery : : The weather in the BVI’s has been uncharacteristically turbulent as this Hobie Cat pair found out whilst racing at the Bitter End YC Sailing Festival yesterday. Hot Capers photographer Ingrid Abery (www.hotcapers.com) was on hand to capture their demise.
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J Boats at Raymarine Warsash Spring Series
Photo by Edie Mays : : For those still reeling from the horrendous cold and wind of the Red Funnel Regatta, the benign conditions which greeted competitors for week two of the Raymarine Warsash Spring Series were most welcome indeed.
In IRC Class 1, after fairly ‘average’ start, John Patterson’s J/122 Panacea scooted round the top mark but was passed by the bigger Dark & Steamy on the spinnaker leg and they pulled away on the subsequent fetch and went on to win. Neil Martin’s J/133 Jammy Dodger was third at this stage. The breeze died causing some to kedge and as the breeze filled in all of IRC Class 2 and the back markers in IRC Class 1 came round the mark in new breeze and sailed through the boats which were previously looking good. In the end, Ian Mathews in his J/122 Jinja did well to salvage a fifth place in class, with Rob Craigie’s J/122 Jbellino just behind.
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Team Spirit?
This is a sneak look at the new Spirit 76 Nazgul currently in build for UK owner Stuart Simpson. The shot was taken back in November 2007 and Nazgul is now nearing completion. Launch date is likely to be in May followed by sea trials, an official launch party in London in June and transportation to her base in the Med.
Simpson is a regular campaigner on the Melges 24 and 32 circuits so we can expect to see Nazgul on the start line of some the Mediterranean regattas. Further plans include transportation across to the Carribean in 2009.
We will be keeping an eye Nazgul up to and beyond her launch so check back for more updates.
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Prima match race
The two Liverpool based Prima 38's - Richard Booth's 'Nod's New Car' and Neil Thomas's Mighty Max II - racing at the Pwllheli Winter series in beautiful North Wales.
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Iker Martínez & Xabi Fernández take second Euro 49er title
Photo by Ingrid Abery : : S’Arenal (Majorca), 30 March – Spanish double triumph at the 49er Europeans – Madrid 2016 with Gold for Iker Martínez & Xabi Fernández and silver for brothers Federico & Arturo Alonso. The event, held at Club Nàutic S’Arenal, in Majorca, enjoyed today a gripping ending that finally gave the opportunity to the Basque tandem to win their third European title- second consecutive one- and the first medal for the brothers from Asturias.
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Spirit of Antigua
Spotted the new Spirit 100 looking fabulous in Antigua's Falmouth Harbour and ready for the upcoming Classic Week. She is a modern classic racer with all the accommodation and non racey bits located in her 40' tender which you can see tied along side.
There are bigger yachts in the bay for sure but none come close to being as pretty.
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Rolex Commodores' Cup - Preview
The Rolex Commodores' Cup will be held off Cowes, Isle of Wight, from 29th June to 6th July 2008. Entries, which must be made by Member National Authorities, close on Monday 26th May.
With three months to the start of the 9th biennial Rolex Commodores' Cup on 29th June, team preparations are beginning to really heat up. Organisers, the Royal Ocean Racing Club, expect 14 or 15 three-boat teams to take to the water for this increasingly fiercely contested international competition and challenges are anticipated from Hong Kong, Ireland, France (winners in 2002 and 2006), The Netherlands, Spain and Great Britain (winners in 1996 and 2004), which includes a team representing Scotland. Other teams known to be close to forming are Germany (winners in 1998) and Russia (debutants in 2006).
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Video - Red Funnel Regatta
Nice piece of video from Cowes TV/TheKnowledgeZone on the only day of racing at the recent Red Funnel Regatta in Cowes.
Includes footage of the TP52s downwind and what must be the first video of the new Ker 39 Silk Glove.
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49er Europeans in Palma
The Spanish pair Iker Martínez & Xabi Fernández are on top at the 49er Europeans in Malaga as the qualification series ended today.
Ingrid Abery of www.hotcapers.com was there to capture all the action from a couple of breezy days of racing.
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49er Europeans in Palma
The 49ers are out in Palma for their European Championships but day 1 was blown off by 30 knot winds. Our favourite photographer Ingrid Abery (www.hotcapers.com) was there to capture the action from the practice day as well as the fleet’s impromptu kite surfing session.
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Racing at last at Red Funnel Easter Challenge
Pictures by Rick Tomlinson : :
Day three of the Red Funnel Easter Challenge, organised by the RORC, produced some quite stunning Solent racing with plenty of spills and thrills. Finally, after two days of frustration, racing got under way and it was well worth the wait. Louay Habib took a trip out to the combat zone to witness the action.
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Groundhog Day at Red Funnel Easter Challenge Race Report Day 2
Pictures by Rick Tomlinson : :
“The reasons for calling off racing early this morning was that the wind is much the same as yesterday or even slightly stronger.” Commented, RORC Chief Executive, Eddie Warden-Owen.
“It would have been tough or nigh on impossible to have raced today. We decided to make the decision early, so that people can decide what they want to do with the rest of the day and we hope we can run some good races tomorrow.”
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Gale Force Solent - Red Funnel Easter Challenge Race Report Day 1
Pictures by Rick Tomlinson : :
Day one of the Red Funnel Easter Challenge saw strong north westerly winds, gusting over 40 knots. The fresh gale combined with spring tides whipped up the Solent into a foaming and confused state. The Royal Ocean Racing Club decided to postpone racing for one hour in the hope of getting at least one race in for the competitors.
However the conditions failed to improve as PRO Jamie Wilkinson explains; “We decided to postpone racing until 1500 to avoid wind against tide. Although the wind occasionally dropped to about 25 knots, it was regularly at 35 knots and occasionally gusting over 40.The foredeck on the committee boat was pretty precarious and although we could have anchored, it would have been very dangerous to run a race from the deck of the boat.”
Three races are schedule for day two of the Red Funnel Easter Challenge, however the weather forecast for tomorrow is looking very much the same. If racing is not possible, a provision has been in put in place for the competitors to have a coaching session in Cowes Yacht Haven Event Centre, as Jim Saltonstall explains; “Tomorrow morning, if a decision is made not to sail, then the plan is to try and get as many people as possible for a training session on dry land. Myself, Barry Dunning, Cathy Foster and Eddie Warden-Owen will be giving an hour lecture or possibly longer, on Championship preparation. It will be a shame if we can’t race but we have to make the most of it.”
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Windward Gates?
Pictures by Paul Wyeth : : One desisgn keelboat racers are now very famliar with the use of a downwind gate to replace the ‘old school’ single leeward mark. The thinking behind this change was straightforward – the leeward mark were was all too often the site of massive raft ups as large chunks of the fleet arrived at the turn together. This situation was neither fair nor acceptable as major gains or losses as well as serious damage regularly took place. The introduction of the downwind gate gave the fleet options. If the right hand mark is beginning to get congested then a last minute change to the left mark is feasible. Raft ups still occur but not nearly as big or as often.
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Princess Sofia Regatta - Day 3
Pictures by Ingrid Abery : : Words by Corinne Rolland-McKenzie : : Mallorca is no exception: weather forecasts are often wrong!
Sailors and regatta organisers were expecting a strong south westerly with waves, but the stronger winds today came from the North. While it granted the Yngling with 18 knots, and the 49er with a weakening medium breeze, it failed to reach the Finn course forcing the racing committee to abandon the first race of the day. Meanwhile the Tornados were enjoying a totally different wind from the west! With the last qualification races scheduled today for the Lasers, 49ers, 470 and RS:X Men, the weather didn’t make it easy for the racing committees who had to adjust to the capricious winds to provide fair racing for all. In the end, all races were sailed as scheduled, and the favorites are keeping their place at the top of the classifications.
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UK Farr 45 Class - Offshore Rules Profile
Photos by Ingrid Abrey www.hotcapers.com : : Video by Malcolm Donald www.malcolmdonald.com : : Whatever you look for when you are trying to buy a racing keelboat in the UK the Farr 45 just about ticks every box. High performance, great boat-on-boat action and a racing programme which guarantees you get the best value out of your financial investment.
Farr Yacht Design had this to say about boat when they launched it back in 1996 ‘The Farr 45 project is the result of extensive studies of the current market place. These studies indicated that there was a clear opening for an economical, high performance race boat that could benefit from new technologies and give a strong promise of prolonged competitive life (good resale value) in IMS, PHRF, CHS and One Design regattas’.
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Winners are grinners
Photos by Gilles Martin-Raget and Guilain Grenier www.martin-raget.com : : This is the smiling face of France’s Sarah Steyaert who snatched the Women’s Laser Radial World title from the week long leader Lijia Xu of China. Xu had to settle for second overall when too much body movement resulted in a DSQ in the final race.
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The Golden Ticket
Photo and words by Hilary Davies : :
The weathermen said it was a grey, wet and windy day, but for Paul O’Neill it couldn’t have been a brighter day if the sun was shining and the skies blue. He was travelling down from Castle Semple in Scotland to collect his prize from Speed Sails.
As Paul stood holding the winning raffle ticket it was still hard to believe that he was the proud winner of a brand new GP14.
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BMW Oracle Racing - Winter Training
Photo Gilles Martin-Raget / BMW ORACLE Racing : :
We have a policy here at Offshore Rules that we don't report on the America’s Cup unless the story relates exclusively to sailing and not courtroom shenanigans. So we were heartened to receive photos this morning of the Oracle/BMW boys out practicing in their matched pair of Xtreme 40 cats.
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Melges E Scow videos
We love this sort of stuff. We have seen the E Scows on the shore at a number of US Yacht Clubs but never out on the water. We have to admit they look pretty cool in action. See what you think?
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Princess Sofia Regatta Video
Some video introducing the Princess Sofia Regatta in Malaga and featuring the Dutch brothers Sven and Calle Coster competing in the 470 yesterday.
The voice over is Dutch but we can all enjoy the pictures.
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Raymarine Warsash Spring Series - J Boats out in force
Photo credit: Eddie Mays : : Day One of the Raymarine Warsash Spring Series was certainly a ‘J Day’ with huge J Boat entry. There were three J one-design classes; the J/80s, the J/105s and the J/109s all enjoying the level playing field that this kind of racing affords in addition to three brand new J/122s, two J/133s, a J/92 a J/110, a J/35 and a J/39 competing in the IRC classes.
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ACCBank Cork Week 2008 - Offshore Rules Preview
Photos by Robert Bateman Photography www.batemanphoto.com : :
UK readers will need no introduction to the bi-annual Irish spectacular which is Cork Week. Cooler than Cowes Week and on a larger scale than most regattas across the globe it now regularly attracts entries from as far afield as the US, Australia, Hong Kong and South Africa. More local entries pour in their hundreds from the UK and European mainlands. Past competitors will wax lyrical about the après racing craic – the bands, beer and the whole Cork Week tented village experience. In truth the social scene requires a considerable degree of stamina if crews are to survive the week in full party mode. But whilst it is true that their ‘ain’t no party like a Cork Week party’ - in Ireland they also take their yacht racing seriously and Cork Week is as popular for the quality of the racing it lays on as it is for the onshore activities afterwards.
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Olympic Classes at 39 Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sofia MAPFRE - Palma
Photos by Nico Martinez : :
The first day in the 39th Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sofia MAPFRE started on schedule with a light south-westerly breeze and sunshine.
Spanish sailors have taken the lead in 4 classes. Double Olympic medalist Natalia Via Dufresne sailing with Laia Tutzo in the 470 have had a near perfect day with a second place in the first race and a victory in the second, the Catalan team are on the right path to gain selection for the Olympic Games. They have a 3 points lead over World Number 1, Giulia Conti and Giovanna Micol. The Italian pair has placed second at the World Championship.
The day’s first race went to triple world champion Dutch sailors Marcelien de Koening and Mobke Berkhout who are now on 5th position. The Dutch will be defending their title with a new boat designed by DSM they have been testing for the last two years.
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iShares Cup 2008 - Preview
Photo:
Planning for the iShares Cup 2008 is in gear with provisional dates set for the 2008 Extreme 40 Sailing Series. With the venues for the five-event series still to be confirmed, the calendar is starting to take shape.
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Melges 20 build pictures released
The long awaited and much heralded Melges 20 sportsboat took a huge leap nearer to fruition when Melges Performance Sailboats today announced that McConaghy Boats had been appointed as the official builder.
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Acura Miami Grand Prix - Final
There was no slam dunk choice for the Boat of the Week honoree at the 2008 Acura Miami Grand Prix. That’s because all four classes were hotly contested throughout the regatta.
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Eternal Optimists for ever...
For some reason we never did the Optimist thing when we young. A look at these videos gives us some idea of what we were missing.
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Foiling fun...
OK we love the whole foiling Moth idea here at Offshore Rules even though we know in our hearts that our physical make up (and sailing ability) means that we are never likely to experience it first hand.
Here is a collection of the best foiler Moth videos we could find for you guys to enjoy.
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RC44 Class Profile
To mark the start of the 2008 RC44 class season we have updated the class profile we wrote last year. This version includes more photos and some great video of the boats being sailed. Enjoy. : :Photo by Giovanni De Sandre : :
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Now that is what I call a wave....
Video by adrenalinerush99 : :
Now we know there are no sails involved here but you just have to be impressed by the size of the wave this guy surfs....
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RC44 Class in Dubai - Final
Photo by Thierry Martinez : :
The Italian-French duo left no chance to the opposition today, winning two out of three races and finishing the fleet race event with a comfortable margin over Team Ceeref and Team ES Bankers Dubai.
The wind had shifted to the left for today’s last races, and the chop made it a significantly different race course than the one experienced during the previous days. This novelty didn’t disturb Team Hiroshi – Città di Milano, with Armando Giulietti at the helm and Sébastien Col at the tactics. Indeed, the Italian team clearly dominated the fleet today, taking excellent starts, sailing fast and at the right place to win the event with a massive 15 points margin over Team Ceeref and Team ES Bankers Dubai.
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Acura Miami Grand Prix - Day 1
Pictures by Tim Wilkes : :
Vincenzo Onorato has skippered Mascalzone Latino to victory in the last two Farr 40 World Championships. With the 2008 Worlds one month away, the Italian team seems to be rounding into top form.
Onorato had a brilliant opening day at Acura Miami Grand Prix, winning both races to take the early lead in the deep, talented and highly-competitive Farr 40 class. British America’s Cup veteran Adrian Stead called tactics aboard Mascalzone Latino, which made a great move at the leeward gate to take control of Race 1 then caught a favorable wind shift in Race 2.
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Ocean BMW Torbay Week - preview
The very first Torbay Week, a brand new regatta bringing together sailors from across the Bay, is getting off to a sparkling start.
The official launch of the exciting new six-day event will be a high-powered affair as Ocean BMW (Torbay) is announced as the major event sponsor. The dealership, which currently has a showroom in Paignton, is to support the event with the largest amount ever paid in sponsorship for a Tor Bay based sailing regatta. It is a major coup for the organisers of the event, which will replace Torbay’s existing sailing regattas – Babbacombe, Royal Torbay, Paignton and Brixham – and will take place between Friday 22nd and Wednesday 27th August 2008, featuring a three-day championship for all classes and a two day Admiral’s Cup Team Event.
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RC44 Class in Dubai
Photo by Jacques Vapillon : :
With Armando Giulietti at the helm and Sébastien Col calling the shots, the Italian team took a decisive advantage over the rest of the fleet. With only two more races on the program, it sits at an enviable position ahead of Patrick de Barros and Russell Coutts’ Team ES Bankers Dubai.
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The need for speed - 49 knots
Photo Gilles Martin-Raget : :
This is Antoine Albeau the new overall sailing speed record holder after completing a 49 knot run on the canal at Saintes Maries de la Mer in France. The run still needs to be ratified by the powers that be but it is another step closer to the elusive 50 knot barrier.
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RC44 Class in Dubai
Photo by Jacques Vapillon : :
Fairly strong winds and big waves: the conditions could not have been better for the first day of the fleet racing event of the Dubai RC 44 Cup. Already a brilliant second of the match racing event, Armando Giulietti’s Team Hiroshi – Città di Milano leads the fleet race after four regattas.
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Product Test - Harken Rigtune Pro precision digital rig tension meter
We gave the Harken Rig Tune Pro to a well known name in the international Melges 24 class, Nigel Young from North Sails, to put it through it’s paces at the recent Volvo Cup regatta in Scarlino Italy and report back. Accuracy around rig settings in the Melges 24 class is vital to the tuning process and it is essential to be able to replicate ‘fast’ settings quickly and simply. Traditionally Nigel has used a spring loaded rig gauge to ascertain rig tensions but reading the gauge is a subjective operation and open to interpretation by whoever reads the gauge. This can result in rig settings being difficult to reproduce.
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GP42 Class 2008
Images by Pierre Orphanidis : : Video by DCP1980007 and Tonnesso : :
The GP42 class is into its second season and has picked up a class sponsor in the form of Portugese clothing brand Quebramar. The Quebramar GP42 Cup series will comprise six events to be held in Italy, Spain, France, and Portugal from May through
October. The first event on the Quebramar GP42 Cup tour will be the YC Italiano’s Trofeo Pirelliin Santa Margherita over 1-4 May. A maximum of nine races from each event will count towards the series, and the overall winner will be awarded a perpetual Trophy to named the Quebramar GP42 Cup.
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Melges 24 Volvo Cup Regatta - Blu Moon edges it
Photo by James Robinson Taylor : :
The 2008 Italian Melges 24 circuit got underway this weekend with the first regatta of the Volvo Cup taking place at Scarlino in Tuscany. The M24 world championships will be held in Porto Cervo, Sardinia at the end of May and as a consequence the Melges 24 fleet in Italy is currently at its highest level ever. Most European M24 teams are using the five regatta Volvo Cup series as the basis of their warm up for the worlds so it was no surprise to see a bumper sixty-five boat entry with ten countries represented.
We will be there to bring you all the action so check back for our updates.
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Melges 24 Volvo Cup Regatta - Scarlino, Italy
For the next few days Offshore Rules will be reporting from the first Melges 24 Volvo Cup Series regatta at Scarlino, Italy. The Melges 24 Worlds are in Porto Cervo this year and over the winter some big names have been linked to European M24 campaigns. The Scarlino regatta is the first real chance for the teams to square up to each other and the racing is expected to be intense.
We will be there to bring you all the action so check back for our updates.
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A bit of big wind downwind Laser action
Its a slow news day so here is some fantastic Mediterranean downwind Laser action from the guys at www.sailcoach.com
They describe the action:
'When we went out sailing it was 25 knots, with big waves. However, after half an hour the wind increased to over 35 knots, wtih gusts over 40. We were quite far upwind by this time, and the video shows our mad dash back to the safety of the SailBase'.
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18ft Skiffs JJ Giltinan International Championship - Final
Words and pictures by Frank Quealey : :
Defending champions Michael Coxon, Aaron Links and Nathan Ellis brought Fiat home a narrow winner today to finish second overall behind Gotta Love It 7, while Hugh Stodart’s Asko Appliances was third, just ahead of Omega Smeg (Trevor Barnabas).
Coxon and his team led all the way in today’s race and looked likely to score an easy win but had to survive a brilliant finish by Kinder Caring Home Nursing (Brett Van Munster).
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Just when we thought it was safe....
Photo Credit Bill Misenheimer : :
Just when we thought it was safe and that we had got away with it an email from Sailing Anarchy's Mr Clean pops into our mailbox and brings the whole sorry tale rushing back into our consciousness. This picture pretty much sums up the first couple of days aboard the Melges 32 Team Barbarians at Key West this year. We described it at the time as life of the learning curve as our owner got to grips with steering after a two year layoff and the rest of us worked out how to sail the 32. We featured significantly at the rear of the fleet but were thoroughly enjoying the experience until the end of race two on day one.
The race up until then had been pretty uneventful but on the final downwind leg we had closed up on the pack of around five boats in front of us. Unfortunately we conspired to approach the finish line on port overlapped on the pack all soaking into the line on Starboard. I guess the charter deposit was upermost on our minds as we bailed out the wrong side of the finish.
Then using all our skill and judgement we managed to make a bad situation way way worse by turning upwind as we were dropping the kite. The tackline was off, the kite skied and ......well you can see for yourself.
Apparently Clean has video of it too. Great.
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Laser Masters Worlds - Champions crowned
Photos by C&C Images : : Words by Di Pearson : :
Day 6 racing at the Laser Masters Worlds, sponsored by Crowne Plaza, where the prize giving dinner will be held this evening, got underway with the Standard fleets shortly after 10.00am in light flicky south and south-easterly winds on the course off Terrigal.
Brett Beyer (AUS) was the first winner announced today, successfully defending his 2007 World Championship crown in the Standard Apprentice Master finishing the final day with a win and a second place. “I’m very happy. There wasn’t much wind, maybe 10-12 knots, and the racing was very close as usual,” said Beyer on winning an unsurpassed sixth Apprentice world title.
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UK's GP14 Class prize draw to win boat number 14000
Photo by David Bell : : It's obviously the weekend for giveaways. To celebrate the sale of over fourteen thousand boats worldwide the GP14 Class Association giving away GP14 number 14000 in their prize draw at this weekend's Dinghy Sailing Show.
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Audi 2008 Sydney Harbour Regatta - Yacht racing meets Days of Thunder
OK this is different. Audi are sponsors of the 2008 Sydney Harbour Regatta and have tagged an interesting clause onto the normal yacht racing format. The overall winner of the regatta will be decided on land in a 'Final Challenge' event at the Eastern Creek Raceway. Winners from each of the regatta' twenty divisions go head to head against each other on the racetrack. The overall winner gets a new Audi A4 Sedan.
Here is the official story....
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18ft Skiffs JJ Giltinan International Championship - Race 5
Words and pictures by Frank Quealey
Seve Jarvin, Sam Newton and Robert Bell have tightened their grip on the SLAM-Winning Appliances J.J. Giltinan International 18ft Skiff Championship following an all the way win with Gotta Love It 7 in Race 5 on Sydney Harbour today.
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Laser Masters Worlds - Two races to go and all to play for
Photos by C&C Images : : Words by Di Pearson : :
Day 5 at the Laser Masters Worlds sponsored by NCS Resins took on a new significance as those at the top of each division tried to capitalise on their results today knowing there was only tomorrow’s two races remaining.
Overall leader James Liebl (USA) rose to the occasion in the Radial Apprentice, winning his fourth race on the trot in Race 7 and adding a third in Race 8 for an almost unassailable 17 point lead. The gregarious American’s worst result is a third and he is on 11 points having sailed a blinder of a series.
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Product Test - Harken Rigtune Pro precision digital rig tension meter
At Offshore Rules we have always been a little cynical when it comes to using spring loaded rig tension gauges. The accuracy of the readings are dependent on how the meter is read and who by and whole thing just seems a little hit and miss?
Harken's Rigtune Pro is an attempt to eliminate the inaccuracies of the conventional springloaded models through the use of a digital display which they say is easy to read and requires no guess work.
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Laser Masters Worlds - Smiles all round
Images C&C Images Report by Di Pearson : :
The Bureau of Meteorology’s predicted south/south-easterly 13 to18 knot winds were almost right and smiling competitors came ashore after breezes finally reached as much as 14 knots at the Laser Masters Worlds being sailed off Terrigal today in what has been very much a light weather affair so far.
Yellowtail Wines, which many have sampled and taken pleasure from this week, sponsored today’s racing in which two Australian defending world champions, Brett Beyer (Standard Apprentice) and Mark Bethwaite (Standard Grand Master) bounced back from their ‘disaster’ days on Tuesday, both winning two races from two today to reclaim their respective leads.
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GP42 Class 2008 Regatta Program announced
Images by Nico Martinez : :
The International GP42 Association is pleased to announce that the calendar of the GP42 2008 Cup has been finalized. The second circuit of the fast-growing GP42 class will be richer in events and even more international than the inaugural one in 2007. The GP42 2008 Cup will consist of 6 events in no less than 4 European countries.
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18ft Skiffs JJ Giltinan International Championship Race 4
Words and pictures by Frank Quealey : :
Race 4 - Sponsored by SLAM and Winning Appliances
The battle for the SLAM-Winning Appliances Giltinan 18ft Skiff Championship has tightened considerably following the second consecutive win by Fiat in Race 4 of the series on Sydney Harbour today.
The defending champion team of Michael Coxon, Aaron Links and Nathan Ellis had to come from behind the young Gotta Love It 7 team to win by one minute in a light-moderate north east wind.
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Ben Ainslie to open 2008 RYA Dinghy Sailing Show
Photo by oNEdition : :
World and Olympic champion Ben Ainslie will kick off a weekend of family fun when he raises the curtain on the 2008 RYA Dinghy Sailing Show, in association with Yachts and Yachting and Suzuki, at London’s Alexandra Palace on Saturday 1 March.
Ainslie re-wrote the record books once again last month as he sailed to a historic fifth Finn World Championship title in Australia, and his preparations for defending his Olympic title in Beijing this summer are now in full swing.
The battle for the SLAM-Winning Appliances Giltinan 18ft Skiff Championship has tightened considerably following the second consecutive win by Fiat in Race 4 of the series on Sydney Harbour today.
The defending champion team of Michael Coxon, Aaron Links and Nathan Ellis had to come from behind the young Gotta Love It 7 team to win by one minute in a light-moderate north east wind.
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Acura Miami Grand Prix - Preview
Pictures by Ingrid Abery - Hot Capers: : Words by Jeanne Kleene : :
Rivalries and rematches will be the order of the day when racing beings on Thursday March 6 off of South Beach. At press time over 60 boats from 13 different countries had entered the 2008 Acura Miami Grand Prix. The competition promises to be fierce and world class.
A Farr 40 class approaching 30 boats, two IRC classes and over 20 Melges 32s, teeming with international talent and world champions, make up this extraordinary grand prix fleet.
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